INFO / links & info:

www

52 climbs carried out in 2015 have been included in the "Big list" of the Piolets d'Or, the prestigious mountaineering award that will be celebrated between 14 - 17 April 2016 at La Grave - La Meije in France. During the 24th edition, Polish mountaineer Wojciech Kurtyka will receive the Piolet d'Or Carrière - Lifetime Achievement Award.

Piolet d’Or 2016: 52 ascents, Wojciech Kurtyka - Piolet d'Or Carrière, La Grave-La Meije. These are the keywords of the mountaineering award on track to celebrate its 24th edition at La Grave - La Meije in France in mid-Apri. As reported at the end of January, this annual celebration of alpinism will move from Courmayeur and Chamonix to the foot of Mt. Meije, while only a few days ago the “representative list of significant, innovative ascents” carried out in 2015 was made official. This preliminary list of major climbs is published on pioletsdor.net and was compiled by Lindsay Griffin (American Alpine Journal) and Claude Gardien (ex director of Vertical Magazine), while the International Technical Committee will have the task of selecting from this big list the climbs - and therefore also the alpinists who carried them out - that will be presented at La Grave. This year the jury is comprised of 9 world-class alpinists: Valeri Babanov (RUS), Hervé Barmasse (ITA), Seb Bohin (FRA), Simon Elias (ESP), Yasuhiro Hanatani (JAP), Silvo Karo (SLO), Michael Kennedy (USA), Victor Saunders (UK), Raphael Slawinski (CAN).

A "portrait" of Kurtyka provided by the Piolet d’or organisition reads: "... a mysterious and fascinating character, legendary for his impressive ascents. His first ascent of the West Face of Gasherbrum IV (or the 'Shining Wall') in 1985 is considered by purists to be the most remarkable alpine-style ascent of the 20th century. Born in 1947 in Skrzynka, Poland, Voytek Kurtyka was a veritable phenomenon of a generation of Polish alpinists who marked the history of alpine style climbing in the Himalayas. Along with gurus like Wanda Rutkiewicz and Jerzy Kukuczka, Kurtyka embodies the 'pioneering spirit' that was fundamental to this group of Polish alpinists who learned their craft in the Tatras. One can even go so far as to identify a 'vision' when it comes to the alpinism practiced by this generation: total commitment and immersion, pure alpine style, long winter expeditions, an attraction to beauty, and an alchemy between the climber and the summit."